Bracelets of Black and White

This time, it was a single spear.

The Black Spear was an outstanding item that could stand toe-to-toe with the Soul Sword without shame.

This is insane.

But unfortunately, there was no need for a spear.

He set the spear aside and checked the next item, which boasted equally tremendous options. The one after that was the same.

Seeing a few items with utterly ridiculous options, even Mu-hyuk couldn't help but feel a pang of greed.

Just one...!

Please, let there be something I can use myself.

This one, that one...!

They were all top-tier options, but none were the type Mu-hyuk could use.

Then he spotted a black bracelet engraved with a dragon and a pure white one.

The bracelet had physical attack and defense bonuses.

It was undoubtedly amazing, but...

Just this alone felt a bit lacking.

What about the special option?

The Deadly Strike skill was pretty solid.

HP and MP were plentiful anyway.

It was like gaining a powerful skill usable once an hour.

And the black bracelet?

Mu-hyuk let out an exclamation the moment he saw the options.

"Ah..."

He finally realized the two bracelets formed a set.

The names, the stats—they split the perfect balance right down the middle.

The black bracelet was similar.

Both were attack skills...!

What he loved most was that both special options on the bracelets were offensive skills.

Mu-hyuk lacked attack-related skills, so this was especially welcome.

And the options were top-notch too.

Physical attack, physical defense, magic attack, magic defense—all boosted massively.

All stats went up by 10 as well. That alone was satisfying enough, but Mu-hyuk knew there was more.

The set bonus.

He was dying to know what equipping both bracelets would unlock.

"Can I try equipping these?"

"Sorry, but no. I only allow inspection. Of course, if you choose the bracelets, you can equip them."

"Hmm..."

Mu-hyuk asked one more thing, just in case.

"Just one bracelet? Or...?"

"Since the bracelets are a pair, I'll count both as one choice."

More generous than expected.

Still, he held off for now.

There might be something even better, so he'd check everything. There weren't many items anyway—it wouldn't take long.

A short while later.

Having inspected all the items, Mu-hyuk's gaze returned to the bracelet set.

These are perfect for me.

In the end, he picked them up again.

"I'll take these."

"Very well."

The moment the old man replied, Mu-hyuk slipped the bracelets onto his wrists.

Now, including the Grokion bracelet, he had three he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could use for life.

He was momentarily captivated by the rising hologram.

Unlike Grokion's, the bracelet set effect was a straightforward stat boost—no skills, which was a slight letdown, but still incredibly satisfying.

Just from the bracelets, all his stats rose by 20. This boosted not only his own power but his summons' as well, proportionally.

"How is it?"

"Extremely satisfying."

"Good to hear. Then..."

That meant hand over the mana orbs.

"Should I set them down here?"

"No. Come this way."

He followed the old man to another warehouse.

"Place them on the table."

"Got it."

Mu-hyuk pulled all the mana orbs from his inventory and set them on the table. Satisfaction spread across the old man's face as he gazed at them.

"Here—60,000 gold."

"Thank you."

He stowed the money pouch in his inventory immediately.

Exactly 60,000 gold added to his previous 9,211 gold 21 silver.

"No need to check?"

"No."

As Mu-hyuk answered, a message appeared.

A sudden affinity boost.

Because he didn't check the money?

The thought crossed his mind briefly, but he shook his head.

Probably because the deal went so smoothly.

"Excellent. Transaction complete."

"Yes."

The old man eyed Mu-hyuk for a moment.

"I don't usually deal with outsiders, but..."

"..."

"Since we've forged this connection, visit again someday."

Mu-hyuk's eyes sharpened.

This feels like a quest hook.

Raising affinity with Maulim small city NPCs was notoriously difficult.

But if you could, they offered all sorts of quests.

They'd lived in isolation for ages, but their martial prowess was unmatched.

How tough would their quests be? And the rewards...

Regrettably, he didn't know much beyond this point.

His future knowledge was starting to run dry.

In about ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠two more years...

He wouldn't be able to pull ahead on info alone.

So he had to grow as much as possible before then.

No reason to refuse the old man.

"I definitely will."

"I'll be waiting. And you'll be stronger by then, I trust."

"Of course."

No more words needed.

"Then, farewell."

"Take care."

They parted after the exchange.

*

Heading to meet his companions, an exchange caught his eye.

Quick stop on the way?

It wouldn't take long, so he decided to convert his gold.

"Welcome."

"I'd like to convert to cash."

"How much?"

"60,000 gold."

"Quite a sum. All at once? Or...?"

"In 1,000 gold batches."

"You know about the fees, right?"

"Yes."

"Hand over your hand, then."

The exchanger scanned Mu-hyuk's hand with the machine.

"60,000 gold conversion started. It'll auto-deposit to your account as it sells."

He left the exchange and headed to his companions.

"Oppa! Here!"

"Did I keep you waiting?"

"Nah, like three minutes?"

"Good. Shall we go?"

"Yeah!"

They mounted their warhorses and rode toward the Tower of Death.

"Oppa, it's 50 floors, right? Gonna take forever."

"Cleared floors carry over, so we can take it slow."

"For real?"

"Yeah."

"Cool then."

Re-entering after floor 10 starts you at 10, so no big pressure.

Of course, the fact it hadn't been fully cleared yet hinted at the difficulty.

"Pretty far, huh?"

"Nah, quick trip."

As Mu-hyuk said, the Tower of Death wasn't far from Maulim small city.

About 10 minutes on warhorses.

"Whoa, there it is!"

At 50 stories, it was visible from afar.

Pa-ba-bat.

Their pace quickened naturally.

"Warhorse, faster!"

As they neared, Kairon Continent users dotted the area—whites and blacks mixed, all built like tanks.

"What're they feeding those guys?"

Especially the black users—their muscles bulging from armor looked thicker and harder than rocks.

Passing them, he occasionally spotted presumed Forma Continent users, which oddly felt heartening.

"Oh, Forma user over there?"

"Who cares."

"Feels fresh seeing our kind in foreign lands."

"Fresh my ass."

Amid idle thoughts and user-watching, they arrived.

"We're here."

They queued up. Soon it was their turn: ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Mu-hyuk, Sung Min-woo, Yerin, and Kim Ji-yeon. All four entered the Tower of Death.

Nearly 130,000 teams had cleared floor 1.

"Ten per team—that's over 1.29 million people?"

"Insane."

This was cleared teams, not just challengers.

"Floor 1 should be easy."

"Probably not hard."

They advanced slowly along the wide path ahead. Soon, a goblin pack appeared.

"Goblins? Really?"

"Floor 1's a breeze, huh?"

"Likely."

No tension—these were beginner-hunting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fodder.

Pik, pi-bik.

He didn't even dodge.

Only 1 HP lost.

"This is ridiculous."

Grinning, he closed in. A casual punch at point-blank range exploded a goblin's head in one hit.

Gruesome, but the gray and silver lights blending as it vanished kept it from feeling gross.

"You too."

Another goblin down.

Thud.

Something dropped to the floor.

"Huh? A gem?"

Mu-hyuk picked it up.

Item check.

He already knew the details, so he skimmed the hologram and passed it to his companions.

"Check it out."

Sung Min-woo, Yerin, and Kim Ji-yeon took turns.

"We use this for draws, huh."

Yerin reacted to Sung Min-woo's words.

"Oh, the gacha system thing?"

"Yep. Random pulls."

"So we gotta pull keys to the next floor or whatever?"

"Right."

"Keys probably rare, though?"

"Probably."

"Then blanks are total duds?"

"Uh, well..."

Sung Min-woo trailed off this time.

Mu-hyuk spoke up.

"Not total duds—mostly junk items."

"Just junk?"

"Good luck gets you decent stuff, they say."

"Whoa, seriously?"

"Yeah."

"Gotta farm a ton of these gems then."

To attempt more pulls.